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Morpheus
Common Knowledge Not too much is known publicly about Morpheus, though stories tell of a time four-thousand years ago when the dreams of mankind became dark, only for it to suddenly stop, and for dreams to become much more chaotic. Powers Morpheus is an Elder God, created to embody the subconscious mind. In addition to the extraordinary power he wields through that alone, Morpheus created the Dream World in the Mind Plane and tethered it to every mind on the Material Plane. While in the Dream World, Morpheus is near omnipotent, being able to shape the world and the minds of those within at will. Outside of the Dream World, Morpheus can take command of those who sleep, and if needed, can force people into sleep. However, Morpheus’s power has been severely diminished by the destruction of his physical form, reducing his near omnipotence to just an ability to heavily shape and control the Dream World, and his ability to command and knock out mortals to be more limited and to requiring heavy focus, as well as a conduit for his power (see Lord Nocturne). Personality/Appearance Throughout the first several eons of his existence, Morpheus was a benevolent, though impartial, ruler of the Dream World. He allowed mortals to command their own dreams, and use the sleeping realm to commune with others and to work. He was known to be stoic and soft-spoken, but strong-willed all the same. When he began to go mad, he became more prone to outbursts and random acts of chaos. Eventually this devolved into utter malicious insanity. After his “death” and “resurrection” as Lord Nocturne, he maintained the same malevolence, but now it was fueled by a maddening desire for vengeance. Since being cured of his insanity, Morpheus has returned to his former self, stoic and soft-spoken, though now more cautious and penitent. Generally he appears as a man of indeterminate race, with long dark hair and eyes a solid midnight blue. His skin is covered in tattoo-like markings that shift with the general moods of those in the Dream World. Usually he wears an ornate tunic and a tattered cloak the same color as his eyes. Relations Morpheus was never one to make too many connections, save for his daughter Emlek, the Goddess of Memory, who he created after deciding that there was merit in preserving the memories of mortals. History Origins and Early Existence Morpheus was created by Elu to embody and organize the subconscious of mortal minds, shortly after mortal beings began to populate the Material Plane. Morpheus crafted a realm where subconscious minds could gather, and tethered it to the minds of every being on the Material Plane (as well as a handful off of it). This would be his Dream World, which he would reign over. During this time, dreams were lucid, and could be explored freely and with full interaction between those that slept. Some time later, Morpheus created his daughter, Emlek, the Goddess of Memory, after Morpheus decided that the memories of mortals were worth preserving, and that he himself wouldn’t mind the companionship. Emlek went on to craft her own realm, Thymisi, where she would house memories. The Seed of Madness Before the creation of the Beast, and the exile of the Elder Gods, for reasons unknown the God of Madness planted a seed within the mind of Morpheus, buried so deep within his own subconscious that even he couldn’t possibly find it. It would take thousands of years for the seed to sprout, but it decidedly would. Over the next several thousand years, Morpheus would become increasingly prone to violent and chaotic acts, and his Dream World reflected this, becoming increasingly chaotic in kind. The Dreamwalkers Strike Back Around the year 5000, Morpheus began to reign over the Dream World, almost malevolently, becoming increasingly worse over the next millennium, to the point where he would trap random people in eternal nightmares if only for the hell of it. The Dreamwalkers In the year 5884, high elf Meredith Fenn, human Salvatore Richter, hobbit Karis Redwood, dryad Dionaea Muscipula, dark elf Mias’maux Di Kristal, and hawk-kin Avos Buteo, all from different walks of life, unite over having lost close ones to Morpheus’s insanity. They began looking for a way to take the mad god down, and later found their solution, forming an organization called The Order of Wakeful Sleepers and using an ancient ritual to sap Morpheus’s power to become demigods of dreams, the Dreamwalkers. The Failsafe Having realized his end was near, Morpheus deigned it necessary to create a failsafe, so even if he should fall to the Dreamwalkers, he wouldn’t be completely destroyed. Following a legend of a mysterious conduit for nearly any form of energy that grew deep within the Void, Morpheus claimed a shard of what would become known as Reality Crystal, and in the year 5888, stashed within it a projection of himself, and a fragment of his power, and dropped it into the material plane to either reclaim later or to be found. The Fall Morpheus and the Dreamwalkers went to war. And in 5889, the Dreamwalkers did the impossible, and slew the God of Dreams. Immediately upon his death, the Dream World became chaotic but ultimately neutral, and dreams became what they are known to be today. The Dreamwalkers put themselves in cryogenic hibernation after Karis Redwood, a mystic, has a premonition of Morpheus or his power returning, and leave the Order to watch over them and wake them up if deemed necessary. Present Day (Interactions with Binturians) Vela Daré In the year 10014, a Selkie treasure hunter named Vela Daré found the failsafe crystal pendant in a ruin under the seas near Port Calla. Upon wearing it, she became possessed by Morpheus, who used her body to attempt to regain his power. While limited, his efforts did attract the attention of the Order of Wakeful Sleepers, who sent a reconnaissance agent named Oneiro Trogon to investigate. Lord Nocturne Upon recognizing that Oneiro was actually a decent wizard, Morpheus managed to have Vela transfer the necklace to him, allowing Morpheus to possess him. Before abandoning her body entirely, he altered her subconscious mind to create a deep loyalty to him, and even went as far as to grant her some power to command sleepwalkers. For the next couple years, Morpheus in Oneiro’s body, now going under the name “Lord Nocturne,” began slowly regaining power, perspective, and began to craft an army of sleepwalkers, who built in one winter a castle in the Binturian forest. The Ballad of the Dreamer In the year 10016, Morpheus was ready to enact his revenge upon the world. But he decided that he needed to start by taking out one of the most continuously present world-saving threats: The Binturians. Unfortunately for him, his efforts to trap the Binturians in an eternal dream, thus incapacitating them without having to worry about their pesky habit of coming back from death, failed, and now he had to deal with them tracking down the Order of Wakeful Sleepers and waking up the Dreamwalkers. Catching on to these actions, Nocturne attempted to sabotage them by sending Vela and her sleepwalkers after them, then by entering the dreams of Salvatore and corrupting his dream fortress, and finally by kidnapping Avos Buteo, still in his cryogenic pod, forcing the party and the other Dreamwalkers to fight to get him back. While the Binturians went to wake Avos, the Dreamwalkers attempted to hold off Nocturne, and while successful in repelling him, it cost them the lives of Karis and Mias’maux. However, with Nocturne weakened, the Binturians were able to finish the job, forcing Nocturne into a comatose state, protected by growths of crystal. To save Oneiro and to purge Morpheus once and for all, the Binturians and the Dreamwalkers broke into Nocturne’s dreams. After fighting through layers of dreams upon layers of dreams, the party finally confronted Morpheus, and after an arduous battle, defeated him. But instead of killing his consciousness there, thus ending the God once and for all, they used a Dreamwalker’s power to go into Morpheus’s mind, and destroy the seed of madness, returning him to normal. Upon regaining his senses for the first time in five thousand years, Morpheus willingly left Oneiro to wander the Dream World, searching for purpose. Current Life Morpheus still wanders the Dream World, watching over the world through the dreams of its inhabitants, only acting little by little. Whether he will attempt to take a physical form again is still up in the air.Category:Beings of Power